Jim Passed The Bottle!

Today has been great. This morning when Mama and I got out of bed, my back was just a little sore, thank goodness.

This morning while Tony and I were outside doing the chores, our good friends/volunteers started showing up to walk our dogs. All of us were whispering behind Jim's aka The Mineral Man's back, because we had a surprise birthday party planned for him, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, after the dogs got walked.

While I was feeding Miranda Lambert and her brother, Blake Shelton, Eileen and Kris, Jim's sweet wife, walked up to the pen, so we could discuss Jim's surprise birthday party.( Jim's birthday is actually tomorrow, but we thought today would be the best day to have his birthday party, since the weather was smiling on us.) "Tony and I dropped off Jim's birthday cake yesterday, so all we need to do is stall him, Eileen, so y'all can get up there to get things ready," I said. Then they took off to walk their dogs down to the creek.

When it was time to go to the Medina Highpoint Resort, Jim was the first to get into their car. When Kris started to get into their SUV, I  half-hollered, "Kris, wait. I want to show you something, inside the barn."

As Kris closed the car door, she was grinning at me, as she purposefully, slowly walked up to the barn. "Come on inside, so we can stall Jim," I suggested. Then we stood inside giggling, as we watched the volunteers cars leave.

"What am I going to tell Jim, when he asks me what you wanted to show me?" Kris asked.

"I don't know." Then there was a pause, before I suggested, "Tell him that I wanted to show you a cute dog collar or something like that." By then everyone had driven off, so we walked out of the barn, so Kris could get in their car and take off.

Ten minutes later, when Tony and I walked inside the Medina Highpoint Resort, Jim was laughing and wearing a cardboard crown, that Suzanne had provided. Our long table, that we always sit at, was decorated with Suzanne's cute Mardi Gras cut-out dogs and gifts, gift sacks and cards covered the rest of the table. So, I took off to the food counter, to fetch Jim's birthday cake. As I carried it to Jim, I joked, "We bought a smaller birthday cake this time, because there is always too much cake left over." Then I laughed and said, "Actually, that's not really true. Tony and I are just real cheap."

Tony and I had a blast at The Mineral Man's birthday party and so did everyone else. It was full of laughter. When Jim opened up our gift sack, he unwrapped a small, clip-on book reading light, from Tony. Then when he opened up my gift everyone chuckled, because it was a bottle of Udderly SMOOTH skin lotion.

After Jim had thanked me for my gift, I told everyone about Tony and I getting a jar of it and how much we loved it. Then everyone was curious and wanted to try it. So, Jim put some on his hands, rubbed them together and then Jim passed the bottle, so everyone could try the super skin lotion.

As the bottle of lotion passed from one person to another, down and back up the table, everyone was making remarks about going to buy some, at Gibson's. Then I jokingly said, "By the time Jim's bottle gets back to him—it's going to be completely empty!"

When Jim finally got his half-empty bottle, of skin lotion back, I stuck one, big, white candle, into his birthday cake, so he could light the candle, make a wish, blow out the candle, while we all sang Happy Birthday to him, while he cut up the cake, which came from H-E-B and was totally delicious.

After Jim's birthday party was over, Tony and I went outside with Kris and Jim, so we could load up my three, H-E-B insulated, red grocery bags, that I had packed full of books for tomorrow's Patrick Heath Public Library's 1st annual Local Authors Book Expo, in Boerne. Before Tony and I adios-ed our dear friends, Jim and I decided where and what time to meet tomorrow morning, so he could drive me to Boerne and help me, at the Expo.

This evening, I plan to figure out what I am going to wear for tomorrow's, fun, four hour, Local Authors Book Expo. Then I'm going to drink a glass or two of wine and then go to bed early, because I plan to get up around 5:30, in the morning.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took at The Mineral Man's surprise birthday party today. And that's about it, except I do want to invite y'all to come see Jim and me tomorrow, in Boerne. And, once again, I do want to thank sweet Kris for loaning out her husband, so he can help me.

Y'all have a great evening!

Tiger Balm!

Today has been great, even though my back went out, when I got up this morning, to do the Harley Show. I had a lot of fun talking to Harley Belew, on the radio and his Pet of the Week is Roscoe.

Roscoe is a very sweet, full-blooded Yellow Lab, but because Roscoe's hair is so white instead of yellow tan, like Roy, many people refer to them as Silver-haired Labradors. Roscoe is a fabulous pup. He loves to play, give away kisses and he is great with other dogs. So please help spread the word about Roscoe.

When Tony returned home, after drinking coffee with his friends at the Old Timer, I told him about my back going out, as he ate breakfast, wearing his lumbar brace, for his back. And we ended up laughing about both of our backs. And, when it was time to go outside to do our chores, Tony went outside to do all of the chores by himself, so I could rest my back.

While Tone was outside, Kinky called me, to check on us and The Friedmans. When I told Kink about Tony telling me yesterday, "Fourth teased me this morning, about my back, because he threw his out, too. He told me that he caught it from me, because it is contagious."

Kinky said, "I think Fourth is right about that. Remember many years ago, when Tony's back went out and two days later, yours went out and I teased y'all about it. Then mine went out the next day, the same day that Pryor, Richard Pryor's dog, that he and his wife Jennifer had rescued and flew out to us."

"Yeah, I do. It was pretty funny, when the three of us carried Pryor's crate into his pen, around ten o'clock at night, during that terrible thunderstorm. And we had to scoot our way, looking like we were doing a bad imitation of Tim Conway..."

Before we adios-ed each other, Kinky said, "Nance, you need to put Tiger Balm on your back. It really works. I've got some in my office, in..."

"Thanks, Kinky. That's a great idea. I've got some here and am going to put some of it on, right now..."

After talking to Kinky, I decided to do something productive, since I wasn't outside helping Tony feed the dogs and clean their pens, so I made a list of everything that I would need to pack, for the Boerne Library's 1st annual Local Authors Expo, this coming Saturday. Then I grabbed our three, insulated, red, H-E-B tote bags and filled them with copies of the four books that I have written, along with some rescue ranch and my business cards, information sheets, etc. Then I zipped them up and took this picture of them.

After Tony did the chores outside, he and I went to Kerrville, to start putting up Concert for Utopia posters. We put up twelve posters this afternoon, before we had to get back home, for the kids to come over and walk our dogs for us. So far, the Concert for Utopia posters can be seen at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, Randy & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant, Gibson's, El Sombrero, the Medina Highpoint Resort, Wolfmueller's Books, one Mini-Mart, Pet Supplies Plus, Classic Burgers & Moore, Dr. Hubble's Chiropractic office, Bank of the Hills, Cal-Bob's Smoke Shack and The Pooch Parlor. We hope by the end of next week we will have saturated the Kerr County businesses and surrounding counties with our beautiful, Concert for Utopia posters, that Karen designed for us. So, please wish us luck, in achieving our goal.

Early this evening, while Chet was over here, Kinky called me, again. He wanted to check on Tony's and my backs. I told him, "Don't worry about my back, Kinky. I am fine. The Tiger Balm has really helped my back and I am hardly feeling no pain..." Then Kinky talked to Chet for a few minutes and then he adios-ed us. And now I am going to adios y'all, until tomorrow.

Y'all have a great evening!

Sooner Than Later!

Yesterday was great. Before Ann, our dear friend, came over for a fun visit—Kinky called me. After we had talked about The Friedmans, the great news about Daisy getting adopted to a great home and the weather, Kinky told me about him and Brian rescuing a young male cat.

On Monday, when Brian and Kinky were leaving the Brownsville Spay and Neuter Clinic, he spotted a terrified cat, that was trapped on the side of the freeway access road and the cat's head was dripping blood, because it had probably been grazed and cut by a passing vehicle.

He and Brian went to rescue the endangered cat and after several minutes of trying to convince the kitten that they were the good guys, the cat finally walked into Brian's hands for help. And, by the time they arrived back at the spay and neuter clinic, to get immediate treatment for the cat, Kinky had named the cat, Lucky, and it was purring and resting safely, in Brian's arms.

Before Brian and Kinky left the clinic, again, he happily paid the veterinary cost to treat Lucky, knowing that Lucky was going to be fine, sooner than later. Kinky also told me that the good people, at this spay and neuter clinic, in Brownsville, promised him that Lucky, after a full recovery, would be placed, in a great home. And this morning, Brian e-mailed me this picture of Lucky, after the veterinarian had treated Lucky for all of his cuts and bruises. To say the least, "Kinky is thrilled to have been able to help save this lucky cat and if you live in the Brownsville area—go adopt Lucky!

Today has been great, too. Late this morning, Tony and I jumped into Buttermilk, to go run several errands, in Kerrville. Our first stop was at Karen and Mark's home, so I could pick up the beautiful Concert for Utopia posters, that Karen had designed, so Tony and I can get them up around town.

Our next stop was at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, to put up the Concert posters. Then we swung buy Gibson's to get another jar of Udderly Smooth skin lotion for Tony, since I've confiscated that first jar. And as we were about to leave the store, Ann's brother walked up and greeted us. We had a fun, but brief visit with Ann and her family, before heading over to Dr. Hubble's chiropractic office, for Tony's 1:30 appointment.

This time I took my iPad Mini with me, so I could pass the time playing Scrabble. And yes, once again my stomach started growling loudly. Thankfully, there was this older woman than me, sitting in the lobby reading a magazine. When my stomach made this gut-wrenching sound, I laughed out loud and said, "I apologize for my stomach growling so loudly. As soon as we leave here, we are going to eat lunch." 

Then this sweet, senior citizen chuckled and said, "I understand and it is not bothering me one bit." After she had to listen to about ten more of my screeching, stomach serenades, her husband walked back into the lobby and as they were leaving, she turned around and winked at me and said, "Good luck with your problem. I've really enjoyed sitting in the waiting room with you today, because now I have something funny to tell my husband." Then the door closed behind her.

After having won five Scrabble games and Tony's chiropractor had helped improve Tony's back problem, we went to the big H-E-B, on Main Street, to get some groceries. Then Buttermilk took us home.

Late this afternoon, when our dear friend, Chet O'Keefe, came over to visit with us, I thanked him for letting me be the first person he has shared his awesome song, The Highway, with. (The other day he e-mailed me a copy of it.) "Chet, I am not kidding you, Tony and I cannot quit listening to it, because we love it so much. When Tony listened to The Highway song, for the very first time, he could not believe how great it was. It blew him out of the saddle. And your lyrics are so beautifully written, they are still giving me goose bumps and your voice and your music behind it all cannot be matched. We are hoping that you will sing it at our concert..." 

Tomorrow, I plan to get everything ready for Jim's and my trip to the Boerne Library's Local Author Expo, this coming Saturday, between 10:00 and 2:00. I have already boxed up copies of my four books that I have written, but I still need to go to the bank to get some petty cash, so I can break a ten or twenty dollar bill when needed and I  need to print out some information sheets about my books and our rescue ranch. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

Pink Cadillac!

Today has been great, even though it was a very busy day. This morning, while Tony was in Medina, I washed a load of clothes, vacuumed up the dog hair and had steam-mopped The Cabin's wooden floors and had breakfast ready and waiting when Tony returned home.

I did all of this, because I knew that we had a busy day ahead of us. When it was time to do our morning chores outside, I stayed inside, so I could return several phone calls, before going outside to help Tony. It was a good decision, because Paul called to tell me that he was already on his way to deliver a load of dog food to us. Then my dear friend Ann, who I've known since I was seven-years-old called to discuss a good time for a visit.

Forty minutes later, I was outside, helping Tony finish feeding the rest of the dogs and cleaning up their pens. Paul arrived with a full truck load of free dog food, as I was cleaning up Miranda Lambert's and Blake Shelton's pen. So Tony took off, to go help Paul unload the dog food, while I wound things up.

Thirty minutes later after exchangeing emails with Mari, Tony and I put Daisy, in a crate, so we could drop her off at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, for Mari to pick up. Then we jumped inside Buttermilk and took off for Kerrville.

After we had dropped off Daisy, Tony and I went down the road, to Randy's & Lisa's Save Inn Restaurant, to eat a delicious lunch, before Tony's chiropractor appointment, at 1:30.

When we left Dr. Hubble's chiropractic office, Tony's back felt much better, so we decided to run a few more errands, before heading home. Our first stop was at The Cailloux Theater, so we could vote early. Then we went to Wolfmueller Books, to visit with our good friends, Sandy & Jon and for me to pick up 10 copies of The Road to Utopia: How Kinky, Tony & I Saved More Animals Than Noah that Sandy and Jon had ordered for me, so I can turn around and sell them at the upcoming Local Authors Expo, in Boerne, this Saturday.

After a fun visit with Sandy & Jon at their fabulous bookstore, we took off for the Post Office, so I could mail a few letters. Then we went to Gibson's, to buy four, new, replacement wheels for our old wagon, for me to use, when feeding our dogs outside, because carrying around those heavy feed buckets, every morning, makes my joints ache. 

We also purchased another wagon for Tony to use, because with Tony's serious back problems, he doesn't need to be lifting those heavy buckets out of Kermit all of the time and it would be much better for his back, to pull a wagon loaded with several buckets, half full of dog food.

Before leaving Gibson's Tony spotted a jar of Udderly Smooth skin lotion, that we were told is great for dry skin.

When it was time for us to check out, I had another senior moment and it embarrassed me, because I had forgotten to cut a rescue ranch check, to pay for the the wheels and the wagon, so I ended up writing a personal check for everything, knowing that the rescue ranch will reimburse me later. Then we came home. 

When we got back home, I took these pictures of the four wheels that Tony put on the old, green wagon, which I will paint pink tomorrow and have already named The Pink Cadillac and the building of the yellow wagon, that I've named The Yellow Submarine, that Tony will be hauling around, with lighter, half-filled buckets of dog food.

And that is about it for tonight, except I want to wish David the best birthday ever!

P.S. Tony and I love the Udderly Smooth skin cream and we highly recommend it. We plan to buy another jar of it, so we can have his and her Udderly Smooth skin!

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday David Villanueva!

Thank You, Kris & Jim!

Yesterday was great. It was basically a quiet day, until Heather, from Missouri City and Mary, from Kerrville, arrived. These two, very nice women had come out to see our rescue ranch, because Mary has recently started reading my blog.

After Mary took a picture of Heather and me, I gave them the grand tour. First, we walked, from pen to pen, so I could introduce them to all of our rescued dogs. Then, with Tony's help, we went into my pink writing cabin, while Tony held Kate Middleton in his lap, so she wouldn't get out of The Okay Corral. Katie is temporarily staying in The Okay Corral, because we are over capacity, until Daisy and Roscoe get picked up.

Because the women loved my cute cabin, I invited them to go into Outer Space with me. At first they weren't sure if they wanted to, until I explained, "It's our screened-in porch." After a fun, but short visit, in Outer Space, I invited them to come inside The Cabin. And to say the least, "They loved it, too. And they could not believe that our trailer is over thirty-years-old and only cost me $7,000.00, in 1995."

Before they left, we talked about our love for Roy Rogers & Dale Evans and my love for my rescued dog, Roy Rogers. Because I liked Heather and Mary a lot, I wanted to give them copies of my Cowgirl Sisterhood novellas, so I went back into my office, grabbed copies of my books  and signed them to them. Then we adios-ed each other.

Today has been great, too. This morning Mama and I overslept and we thoroughly enjoyed snuggling with each other. (For those of you new to my blog, Mama is my twelve-year-old, rescued Great Pyrenees.)

This morning when Tony and I went outside to feed the dogs and clean their pens, it felt like Spring was in the air. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the dogs all seemed to be smiling and I loved it.

Having done our chores outside, I decided to put our plants, that have been inside, into Outer Space, so they could enjoy the beautiful weather, too. I know that winter isn't officially over and it is more than likely to freeze again, but I don't care, because it is very easy for me to bring our plants back inside, in under three minutes.

Before I started cooking Tony's and my lunch, I checked my e-mail. My dear friend Jim, who lives in California and spends his time traveling around the world, sent me a very funny video to watch about how men's and women's brains work differently and I am still laughing about it and I wish that I had known the truth when I was twenty-years-old. Click here to watch it and please let me know what you think.

It is now 12:30 and I have decided to take the rest of the day off to stop to smell the roses, because I was way too busy this past week. But before I go, I do want to do a shout out to my dear friends, Kris and Jim, "The Mineral Man." Because this past Friday, when they were out here, I was telling them about me getting nervous about having to drive by myself to Boerne, on March 1st, for the Patrick Heath Public Library's 1st annual Local Author Book Expo, from 10:00 to 2:00, because Tony has to stay, at the rescue ranch between 10:00 to 3:00, for our Saturday's Open House.

Before I could finish my sentence, Kris said, "Jim can do it, because I am going to be attending a stained glass workshop all day." Then Jim chimed in, "Nancy, I would love to drive you to Boerne. Because I have nothing to do all day, except stay at home and babysit Charlie, (Their adorable, rescued Westie.) until Kris comes home..."

So I want to say a big, "THANK YOU, KRIS & JIM, for taking that stress away from Tony and me!" And, I do want to invite all of y'all to come see me (and Jim), at the Local Author Book Expo, in Boerne, next Saturday. I know it will be a lot of fun, because I alway love seeing my friends and meeting new people. And I cannot wait for my dear friends, Cheryl and Walter to meet Jim, because I know that they are going to hit it off and become good friends quickly.

Y'all have a great day and evening!

Mari, Eileen, George Carlin, Judith, Ben, Carol, Dennis & Boomer!

Today has been great. Early this morning, after making me a delicious cup of Green Mountain's Donut Shop Coffee, I sat down, at the kitchen table and checked my e-mail. After I had gone down the line and deleted several e-mails, trying to sell me stuff that I don't want or need, I opened my dear friend, Mari's note to read and it instantly made my day great. And it was early!

The reason that Mari's note to me made me so happy was because she wanted me to please let her adopt Daisy, the young, yellow Lab, that we rescued yesterday! In her note. Mari told me why it was so important for her to adopt Daisy from us and it put a giant grin on my face, but that is confidential. Anyway, Mari is coming out Monday to adopt this adorable, lucky pup.

When Tony came home, after drinking coffee with his friends, at the Old Timer, he read Mari's note to me and like me—it put a smile on his face and made his day, too. Then he told me, "Karon told me that she is pretty sure that her friends want to adopt Daisy's brother, Roscoe..." So, we are keeping our fingers crossed that he gets adopted, too.

A little later, in the morning, our good friends/ great volunteers came out to walk our dogs and to finally, get to give Eileen a surprise birthday party. For the past three weeks everyone has been talking behind Eileen's back, about having to cancel and reschedule her surprise birthday party, due to weather, etc. And today, thanks to Suzanne, who supplied Eileen's birthday cake—we surprised Eileen and celebrated her birthday, at the Medina Highpoint Resort.

After the dogs had been walked and everyone was ready to go eat lunch, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, Suzanne whispered to me, "Nancy, stall Eileen for a few minutes, so we can get things set up, before she arrives. Then Suzanne took off in her Ford Mustang convertible.

"Eileen, wait a second, I want to introduce you to Daisy and Rosco...," I said, as the volunteers started their engines. Then I said, "Oh, Eileen, I want you to see the article about George Carlin, in this week's Bandera County Courier. Our friend, Judith Pannebaker wrote it and it is about you and June taking George to the DockDog Expo, at the San Antone Rodeo, last Thursday." Then I handed her the newspaper, so she could take the time to read the great article. (Click here, to read the great article.)

After Eileen had read and told me that she loved Judith's article about George, she adios-ed me and took off for the Medina Highpoint Resort. Then Tony and I called in our lunch order and took off, in Buttermilk, to eat lunch and celebrate Eileen's birthday.

Eileen's surprise birthday party had already started when we arrived and walked inside with me carrying Eileen's gift (a bottle of Cowgirl Sisterhood Wine.) and Tony carrying a gigantic brick of Ben's Miles of Chocolate, that he had given to us last Sunday. We first wished Eileen a Happy Birthday and then I went to our table and announced, "Y'all, Ben was here on Sunday and he gave us two bricks of Miles of Chocolate. And Tony and I want to share it with y'all. I brought foil and we will divide it up after lunch." Then I took these pictures of Eileen's delicious birthday cake and some of Tony's and my favorite people—the volunteers.

During the party, Eileen opened up her gifts and hilarious birthday cards and she passed them around the table for all of us to read and laugh. When Eileen got to Suzanne's gifts, her jaw dropped, when she saw the beautiful bracelet and framed picture. Then her jaw, dropped down a little further, when she saw the cookbook, because she is an Elvis fan big time, like Kris and Suzanne are.

And, to say the least, "Eileen's surprise Birthday party was a total blast. So now, after surprising Eileen, I can officially say, Happy Birthday Eileen! Because I had wanted her to think that we had all forgotten about it."

This evening, as soon as Carol got off work, she called me from the parking lot, "Nancy, today I met someone you know!"

"Who?"

"His name is Dennis."

"Dennis Lanning," I said. "Tony and I love Dennis. Ten years ago, we met him when he came out and adopted our dog, Boomer.  Boomer was a great dog and he went everywhere with Dennis. In fact, Boomer wrote a Kindle book MUTTweiler: An Autodogography by Boomer about his adventures with Dennis. And, the rescue ranch, Tony and I are in it, too. I've blogged about it in the past. It's a great book to read and a lot of fun."

"I know," Carol said. "When Dennis asked me where I was from and I told him Medina. Then he says I adopted a dog in Medina. And, that is how it all got started. Dennis is such a nice man and he really loves y'all. You and Tony know some of the coolest people on the planet. And I am not kidding you, when I tell you this, he and his friends were the most fun group of wine tasters today. They were so much fun and..." And that is about it for tonight, except I want to say, "Hi Dennis! Please come see us sooner than later and bring your friends,too. We'll get Carol over here, too!"

Y'all have a great evening!

The Dukes of Hazard!

Good grief, today has been great. I have been busy since Mama and I climbed out of bed, at 6:00, this morning. We got up earlier than usual, because I was doing the Harley Show, with my pal, Harley Belew. I had fun doing his popular morning radio show. We talked on-air about Mr. Rogers, his Pet of the Week and then we talked about our upcoming, Concert for Utopia, on Palm Sunday at 3:30, at the Cailloux Theater featuring Ray Benson & Asleep at the Wheel, Billy Joe Shaver, Chet O'Keefe and Jesse Dayton. Here's Mr. Rogers, but please note that he comes with baggage, Miss Dee.

As soon as I finished the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch segment with Harley I sat down, at the kitchen table and started doing paperwork until Tony came home. After I cooked him breakfast and had cleaned up the dishes, I went back to doing more paperwork.

When it was time for us to go outside, I was still working and only needed to make up a deposit and write thank you letters, so Tony went outside, without me to start doing our chores. Forty minutes later, all of my paperwork was done. 

As I was about to go outside to help Tony, the phone rang, so I listened to the message. Then I called the nice woman right back, to tell her that I felt sorry for the problems that she was having to deal with, and then I told her that it was fine for her to return the two Yellow Lab pups to us, that she had adopted from us, in November. She had named the puppies Roscoe and Daisy and they are the litter mates, to Brandon's pup, R.J. 

Before adios-ing her, I said, "Tony has a chiropractic appointment, in Kerrville, at 1:30, so if you could drop them off, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, that would be great for us, because we are going there after his adjustment, to pick up Dodi, a three-year-old dog that we rescued yesterday." Then I called Susan, at Hoegemeyers, to let her know that the pups were coming in. Then I went outside to find Tony.

Tony was in Mr. Rogers and Miss Dee's pen, waiting for the dogs to finish eating. "Tony, I think it would be best if you let me finish the chores outside, so you can go to Bandera to make a deposit and mail letters for me." As I rode with Tony, in Kermit, up to The Cabin, I told him about the two Labs coming back and how much time we could save, letting me finish the chores and him going to Bandera.

Five minutes later, Tony and Trigger were gone and I was outside feeding Rocky and Rockette.

One hour later, after I had finished feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens, I decided to mow down some tall grass in Lois Lane's pen, using the push mower. Since Tony was still gone, I ended up mowing the grass in Rufus and Roxanne's pen and Kate Middleton's pen.

As I was pulling the mower out of Kate's pen, Tony arrived, so we went up to The Cabin, so I could take a quick shower and clean up, because we had fifteen minutes left before we needed to head to Kerrville, to eat lunch before Tony's1:30 appointment with Dr. Hubble.

Tony and I ate a delicious lunch, at Classic Burgers & Moore and then we walked down the sidewalk to Dr. Hubble's office. As Dr. Hubble worked his magic on Tony, I thumbed through four magazines, in the waiting room. 

While I was thumbing away, a nice, old cowboy, walked into the chiropractic clinic, for his  appointment with Dr. Hubble. After he had chatted with the receptionist about showing up early, he sat down, in the chair next to me. And ten minutes later, you could have heard a pin drop, in the waiting room and I got so embarrassed, because my stomach started growling loudly and it wouldn't stop. 

Even though, I kept crossing my legs and shifting in the chair, to hopefully make my stomach stop growling, I was sure that the old cowboy wanted to chuckle about it, but he was polite enough not to say a word. 

But, once again—I was wrong about that assumption. Five minutes later, when the cowboy got up to grab a magazine to read, he leaned down and I heard the faint sound of a fart, before my stomach growled again. He acted like nothing had happened and so did I, because he must have been hard of hearing, too.

Thirty minutes later, after leaving Walgreen's, with a Lumbar pillow and Lumbar back support, for Tony, because Dr. Hubble told Tony that he had a bulging disk, Tony and I laughed all of the way to Hoegemeyers, about my stomach growling and the old cowboy breaking wind, instead of steers.

When we arrived at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic, we loaded up Dodi first. When the brother and sister Labs came into Hoegemeyer's lobby, everyone there laughed about them being so cute, because the Lab pups were bouncing up and down with joy and wanting to make friends with all of the pets waiting in the lobby. 

As soon as we got back home, we put Dodi, in the portable pen, next to Holly. Then we drove down to Katie's pen, so I could leash up Katie and walk her down to my writing cabin's front yard, while Tony unloaded and introduced these happy pups to Katie's pen. 

It was around 4:00, when I walked inside The Cabin and I heard, "Hello, Nancy and Tony! This is Lamar. I am in Medina and I wanted to know if I could swing by for a visit." Then I answered the phone.

"Hi, Lamar! We just got back to the ranch. We would love to see you. But, I've got to tell you that Kinky isn't here. I think he is in Austin." Lamar laughed.

"That's fine. I just wanted to come out and see y'all. I love coming to the rescue ranch, because it always makes me feel happy..." As soon as we adios-ed each other, I grabbed my camera and went back outside to tell Tony that Lamar was coming to see us and to take pictures of Daisy and Roscoe. 

Tony was thrilled about Lamar coming out to see us. Here are a few snapshots that I took of the Dukes of Hazard Labs. The first picture shows them playing in Katie's pen. The second one is Daisy with a ball. She is darker than Roscoe and the other two are Roscoe. 

Right after taking these pictures, Lamar showed up! After howdies and hugs, we showed Lamar Daisy and Roscoe and Lamar fell in love with the pups. While we were standing there catching up with each others news, Karon and the kids, from the Medina Children's Home arrived. "Hi, Karon, I said. "I want you to meet our dear friend, U.S. Representative Lamar Smith. He's a dog lover, too..."

After a fun visit with Lamar, Lamar gave our rescue ranch a very generous donation and I gave Lamar, signed copies of my two novellas. And for those that have already read my two fiction novellas, this should make you laugh and him after he reads it, because I signed this inside the Part II novella : 

"For Lamar,

Remember the Alamo!

Love, 

Cousin Nancy

2-20-14"

Before Lamar drove away, Tony took this picture of Lamar and me, standing outside Daisy's and Roscoe's pen.

Around 5:40, after Karon and kids had left, Tony and I went over to see Chet and Marcie, to deliver a dozen of the Golden Girls eggs, but unfortunately, Marcie wasn't there. We ended up visiting with Chet O'Keefe for about thirty minutes and then we came back home, so I could write this. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!

Buttermilk Lives!

Today was sort of great, because Buttermilk, our 2001 Expedition died. Before we did our morning chores outside, Tony called Balser's Northside Automotive, in Kerrville and they recommended that we use Jimmy's Towing Service, to get Buttermilk to them. So, Tony called Jimmy's Towing Service to come pick up Buttermilk.

While we were outside doing our chores, a nice man, working for Jimmy's Towing Service arrived and our dogs got to barking. Tony took off, in Kermit, to see if he could help the tow truck driver.

It only took the driver about fifteen minutes to pull Buttermilk up, on the back of the tow truck and as the driver passed by me, I smiled and waved, as I said, "Thank you!" I was in Maggie's and Merlin's pen, so he stopped near their pen and rolled down his window.

"You're welcome, Cousin Nancy," he said, wearing a big, friendly smile on his face. Then he slowly drove away, with Buttermilk strapped down, on the back of Jimmy's giant, dark blue tow truck.

After Tony and I had finished feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens, we went up to The Cabin, so I could start cooking us lunch, which is always our big meal for the day. As I was washing my hands, in the kitchen sink, Tony said, "While that man was loading up Buttermilk, he told me that he hears you on the radio, when you do Big G's and Harley's show."

Around 1:30, Matt, at Balser's Northside Automotive, called me too give me a quote on how much it would cost for the towing and to replace Buttermilk's fuel pump. My reply was, "That's fine. Please fix her." And the good news is that Buttermilk will be up and running late tomorrow afternoon. Buttermilk Lives!

Late this afternoon, I took a short nap with our dogs, but ten minutes into my sleepless nap, the phone rang and I got up, because I needed to take the call. After talking and adios-ing Kinky, I grabbed my camera, in hopes, that I might be able to get a picture of my best friends, sleeping on our bed. And please note, that they are sleeping on that old quilt that Beau has spent his life time destroying. (The good one, stays folded up, in the bedroom chair and it is only used when we have company that don't know us.) From left to right: Mama, our twelve-year-old rescued Great Pyrenees, Beau "The Destroyer" and Roy Rogers hugging Belle.

After taking the picture, I did some paperwork, then I went outside, to work on my Space Ship, that I love and enjoy fixing up. And that is about it for tonight.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Saints!

Yesterday was great. After Tony and I did our morning chores outside and had come back inside The Cabin, Carlton was flashing, on top of the breakfast bar, to alert me that someone had left a message.

The message was from Jack. The nice couple that were trying out Starsky, for the weekend. When I talked to Jack he told me that he and Carol loved Starsky and he was wondering if it would be okay for him to come out, between 11:30 and 12:30, instead of Wednesday as planned, to sign off on Starsky's adoption papers, because Starsky had stolen their hearts. "We love this dog..."

Around 11:00, after I had dropped Tony off, at the Medina Children's Home. So he could meet up and ride with his friends in their camera club, because they were going on a field trip, to Llano, to photograph baby eaglets, I opened our gate for Jack to get into the rescue ranch.

When I walked inside The Cabin, Linda called to tell me that Peggy Sue had been too food aggressive with their sweet, old dog. She felt terrible about bringing her back, but I thanked her and her husband for giving Peggy Sue a try and then I reassured her that it just wasn't meant to be.

Jack arrived around 12:20. After he had signed off on Starsky's adoption papers, who they have renamed Cooper, he told me how pleased they were to adopt Cooper from us. We chatted for about five minutes about what a great dog he was and then we adios-ed each other.

After Jack drove away, I went to Buddy's pen, to tell him that his old roommate was coming back and Buddy wagged his tail. Two minutes later, Linda arrived with Peggy Sue. When Peggy saw Buddy, in their old pen, she got excited! When Linda put her on the grass, Peggy Sue pulled me, because she could not wait to get back inside her pen, with her best friend Buddy.

After Linda and I laughed about how happy she and Buddy were to be reunited, we visited for a few minutes.

At 1:30, Ben Welch and Will Wallace, my dear friends, called me. They were at the ranch and they wanted to know it they could come over for a visit. To say the least, "They stayed for over three hours and I totally enjoyed their visit."

Today has been great. After lunch and the kitchen was clean, Tony and I made a fast trip to get groceries at the H-E-B, on 16, in Kerrville.

Late this afternoon, I went into the Space Ship. It needed a little more  cleaning and when I was finished with that chore, I asked Tony to please carry out my big J.C. Penney box to the Space Ship, because it has been taking up too much space, inside The Cabin.

Then I spent over an hour, having fun decorating the Space Ship. I took everything out of that J.C. Penny box and hung up the curtains, put new linens on the bunk beds and the pillows inside their pretty shams. And the best was last, when I took down the old shower curtain and hung up the pretty, pink shower curtain and placed the pink bath mat over the tub.

This evening my good friend Mari sent me an e-mail concerning two, sweet, female St. Bernards, that are in urgent need of a home. The two St. Bernards had assisted a family member with M.S. The child has been diagnosed with severe allergies to animals, so the family must find homes for their three cats and these two dogs. In the pictures, the tallest Saint is Marble and she will be three-years-old, on February 22. The other Saint will be three-years-old in October. So if you or know of someone wanting cats or Saint Bernards, please call me at the rescue ranch for more information. 830-589-7544. And that is about it for tonight. Here are the dog's pictures:

Y'all have a great evening!

Tooooooooo Long!

Today has been great, but after writing and posting yesterday's tooooooo long post and then y'all having to spend tooooooo much time to read it,  I think that we all need a day of rest, so I'll write about today tomorrow.

Y'all have a great evening!

Peggy Sue! Peggy Sue!

Yesterday, while having a fun lunch with the volunteers, at the Medina Highpoint Resort, I had some exciting news to tell them. "While y'all were outside walking dogs, this real nice man named Bob called me. He is thinking about adopting Peggy Sue! He asked me all kinds of questions about her to make sure that she was spayed, clear of heart worms, had all of her shots, etc. When he told me that he wanted to adopt her I was thrilled about it. Then I got worried when he asked, "Now, how old is this four and a half month old Beagle?"

"I answered, "She's four and a half months old. But, I need to tell you that there is also someone else interested in adopting Peggy Sue.""I also kinda started getting nervous with Bob, at the end of our conversation, too, when after I had told him about Starsky being Peggy Sue's roommate and him maybe getting adopted, Bob asked me, "Can I change her name to Hutch?""Of course," I told him."

"Y'all, I hope Bob's not a loony-tune or something. Anyway, he told me that he will call me back, at the exact same time, in the morning, about coming out and adopting her. Isn't that great news!" The volunteers loved my news. And to say the least, "As always, having lunch with our friends was a total blast."

Oh my goodness! We had a blast at Carols last night. When we got there, Carol, Lorri and Jeff were working in the kitchen, preparing a snack tray. After hugs and handshakes, Jeff asked me about my day. I told them, "It has been great." I told them about Bob calling me this morning about Peggy Sue. "I am so excited, because I think Bob is really going to come out tomorrow and adopt sweet Peggy Sue." Even though their backs were turned away from me, I could tell that they were as thrilled to hear my good news about Peggy Sue, as I was. Then Tony and I excused ourselves, so we could go outside to get my guitar and banjo, because I couldn't wait to show off my banjo to Jeff Severson, who is one very talented, singer, songwriter musician—just like Chet O'Keefe is.

When we returned with my banjo and guitar, I told Jeff about how cool my banjo was, because the volume matches the volume of a guitar. Then I gave Jeff a quick lesson on some chords. Then Jeff and I grabbed a couple of bar stools and started pickin' and a grinnin'. And believe it or not—we sounded good, as Jeff sang one of his songs after another. At one point while we were playing, Jeff told me, "This is a great banjo and a lot of fun to play. When we get home, I'm going to get one just like yours."

Fifteen minutes later, when Chet arrived, with his Martin guitar, we moved Carol's birthday party outside, on the deck, that had a fire already burning inside her chiminea. "Chet," Lorri said. "Last night after Carol had played us your Game Bird CD we loved your music so much, she showed us the great Austin Chronicle article about you and your music. We would love to hear you play us some of your new songs that Carol has been telling us about."

As Chet was removing his guitar from its case, I stood up and handed my guitar to Jeff, so they could play together, because Jeff had left his Martin guitar, at home. "No, Cousin Nancy. You play with Chet," Jeff said.

"No, Jeff. You play. You are a much more talented musician than me, but at some point I do want to play at least one song with Chet, so I can later brag about it, when Chet becomes a super famous musician." Then they started pickin' and grinnin,'and taking turns singing their songs, as their magical music mesmerized us.

During a break, Jeff handed me my guitar and said, "It's your turn to play with Chet. I had a blast having Chet play lead guitar, to a simple finger pickin' tune, but unfortunately, me jamming with Chet wasn't nearly as good as listening to those two pros play and sing, so after playing one song and Tony taking one ugly picture of me, playing with Chet—I gladly handed my guitar back to Jeff.

After their fabulous concert ended, Carol announced, "Dinner is ready, everybody." And while we were eating a delicious dinner, Lorri and Carol made Jeff confess to me about him playing a prank on me, this morning, and telling me that he was Bob, which I thought was so funny I nearly choked on my food. 

After everyone had quit laughing, Jeff says, "Nancy, I was reading the Bandera County Courier article about Peggy Sue being the Pet of the Week, the whole time when I was talking to you. I thought you would figure it out when I said, "Now how old is this four and a half month old Beagle?" "You were so sweet, and said, "She's four and a half months old.""And when I asked you if I could change her name to Hutch. You said, "Of course.""

"I thought you would surely have figured it out," Carol teased, in between chuckles, "when you started telling us about Bob, in the kitchen, and saw us turn our backs away from you, at the same time, because we were trying not to laugh..."

By the time dinner was over, Chet had invited Jeff and Lorri to come over, in the morning, to let Jeff cut a few of Jeff's latest songs, on Chet's fabulous recording equipment.

About five minutes, before Tony and I adios-ed our good friends, Jeff called the rescue ranch and left a message, that we couldn't hear.

When we got back home, after letting our dogs go outside, I pressed Carlton's button, so I could hear Jeff's hilarious Bob message and Tony and I are still laughing about it. 

Today has been great, but I will keep it short, because this is one, very long post. At 10:00 this morning, a nice couple, came out to check out our dogs, because they wanted their older dog to have a companion. We walked George and their adorable dog, down to the creek, but George wasn't nice to their dog. Then we walked Merlin and their dog, down to the creek, but their chemistry together wasn't good. 

On our third walk, Peggy Sue joined us and their dog seemed to really like her. As we were walking down the road, Lorri and Jeff drove up. "....Jeff just cut three, great new songs, on Chet's recording equipment," Lorri said.

"And, one of the songs I wrote and just recorded, is about you," Jeff said. I was flabbergasted. Then I remembered to introduce the nice, retired couple, standing next to me, to Lorri and Jeff. "And Jeff, this is Peggy Sue! They might adopt her!" Then Lorri, Jeff and I all started laughing, about Jeff's hilarious prank. "We've got to go," Jeff said. "We're going to meet up with Carol and we're running late..."

To make this long story short, "The couple took Peggy Sue home to try her out and they are pretty sure that they are going to adopt her. And Jack called me this afternoon to tell me, "Nancy, we love Starsky and we definitely want to adopt him..."

Y'all have a great evening!

Happy Birthday Carol!

Yesterday was an incredibly great day. I wanted to write about it last night, but I ran out of time and energy, so I am going to write about it now.

Thursday morning, our super friends/volunteers, Eileen and June came out, as planned, to pick up George Carlin, because they were taking him to the San Antonio Rodeo. And George was not going there to ride a bull or do the two-step with a poodle. He was going to the Dock Dog Expo, to learn how to be a Dock Dog and possibly adopted. Dock Dogs is a fun sport where dogs run down a long dock and then leap into a pool of water, to fetch a tennis ball.

I am not sure which one of us was the most excited about George going to San Antone to spend the day, but I am pretty sure it was George, because he loves the water so much.

After Tony and I adios-ed June, Eileen and George, we finished doing our chores outside. When we came back inside The Cabin, Jack had called and left a message on Carlton, "Nancy, my wife and I were wondering if we could come out later today, to pick up Starsky. We would like to take him home for the weekend, to see if he gets along with other dog..."

Around 4:15 things started popping, at the rescue ranch, when Carol Called me! "Nancy, I'm heading home. I'm between Pipe Creek and Bandera right now and Lorri just called me and they should be at my ranch about the same time that I get there! Jeff and Lorri are anxious to see y'all, so come on over as soon as you can..." 

Tony and I were excited about seeing Lorri and Jeff, so I told Carol that as soon as George got back and Jack picked up Starsky, I would come over and then Tony would come over, after the kids had left, around 5:30.

Ten minutes later, while Tony and Karon were down at the creek, supervising the kids and the dogs, I went outside to greet Jack, Eileen and June. "Nancy, George was fantastic!" Eileen said. "Sydney, the DockDog trainer, was very excited about letting George, learn how to be a DockDog. When June and I walked out on stage with George, Sydney was telling the audience all about George and the rescue ranch. He told them about his master dying in a fire, in Hunt, then a friend of the family fostered George for four months, before bringing him to the rescue ranch! And when he finished introducing George, several people made donations to the rescue ranch."

"Nancy," June said. "George had a blast today. Sydney told us that he would adopt George, in a Montana minute, but because he already has too many dogs, he couldn't. I wish that we could stay, but I've got to get home."

"Nancy, I'll send you some pictures when I get home," Eileen said, before they drove off.

"Hi, Jack," I said, as I grabbed a leash. "Looks like Starsky can't wait to go spend a weekend with you and your wife..." And I was right about that. As soon as I put a leash on Starsky, he ran to Jack's truck and immediately jumped into the backseat.

Ten minutes later, I jumped into Trigger's front seat and took off for Carol's ranch and twenty minutes later, Tony jumped into Buttermilk and took off for Carol's ranch.

We had a wonderful visit with Carol, Lorri and Jeff, as we sat out on the deck, with a fire burning in her Chiminea. 

When we came back home—Eileen had sent me these pictures of George's unforgettable fun day, in San Antone.

We are so happy for George Carlin! If you are interested in adopting this great three-year-old dog, please call me at the rescue ranch: 830-589-7544.

This evening, Chet O'Keefe, Tony and I are going over to Carol's ranch to celebrate Carol's birthday, with Carol, Lorri and Jeff. Chet and I are taking our guitars, so we can play a little music with Jeff!

And that is about it for now, but before I go eat lunch with the volunteers, I want to say, "Happy Birthday Carol! And Happy Valentine's Day to Y'all!"

Y'all have a great day like we are!

Morning Chores!

Today has been great, but before I write about it, I want to say, I LOVED watching The Beatles and I still want to marry Paul! I also LOVE that the Westminster Kennel Club for allowing Mutts, to enter and compete in their agility trials and I also enjoyed watching their dog show!"

This morning, after breakfast, I realized that I had forgotten about putting CLR, into my stopped-up steam mop, last Thursday, in hopes that it would help unclog the lines. Then I worried about me permanently ruining my steam mop, because I had forgotten and left those chemicals in the tank too long. So, I grabbed my steam mop, plugged it in and turned it on.

Then I put a towel down on the floor, underneath the mop, in case the mop started leaking or blew up and caught on fire. Then I started watching the clock and counting down the minutes. Seven minutes passed and the mop had done nothing.

Right after eight minutes had passed, Tony walked into the big room to tell me that he was going outside to start doing chores. "Tone, it has done nothing for eight minutes and I am going to give it one more minute, before I turn it off. I'll be out there in about fifteen minutes, because I need to vacuum the trailer." And as soon as I had told him that— there was this big steam-explosion coming out of the bottom of the mop head! "Oh my goodness! Tony, it's working. The CLR has unclogged my steam mop." Tony smiled at me and then he went outside.

I was so thrilled watching all of the steam coming out of my mop, I decided to keep it running until there was no more steam and the tank was empty. So, I lifted it off of the towel and decided to just mop one small area, over and over again, to prevent a possible fire.

When it had finally run out of steam, I turned the mop off and then unplugged it from the wall. As I wound up the electrical cord, it dawned on me that I should probably re-mop the small area with soap and water, to clean up the CLR chemical spill, to protect our dogs, because they always like to lick up the wood floor, after one of Roy's many trash can invasions.

After re-mopping the floor with my old O'Cedar wooden handle mop, I put our dirty clothes into Speed Queen, to wash a load of clothes. Then Hazle came out of the closet, to help me remove all of the multi-colored dog hair, that was covering the floor, of  The Cabin.

When Hazel finally went back into the closet and I went outside to help Tony with our morning chores. And the good news is—The Cabin is clean and I was only forty minutes late. And that is about it for tonight, because I am fixing to re-watch The Beatles: The Night That Changed America, again! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

P.S. In case you haven't noticed yet, I have put a link, at the top of the sidebar, that links you directly to the information about our April 13th, Concert for Utopia. I hope that you will check it out and buy tickets to it, because it is going to be a fantastic concert.

Y'all have a great evening!

The Beatles And Fifty Cents!

Today has been great. I overslept this morning and I totally enjoyed it and wish that I could do it more often.

This past week there has been a lot of news and talk about The Beatles: The Night That Changed America 50 Year Anniversary show tonight. I have talked to many friends, about my age, that remember watching and falling in love with The Beatles, 50 years ago today, on the Ed Sullivan Show and everyone that I have talked to has been looking forward to watching the show tonight.

Kinky was nineteen-years-old and he remembers and I was twelve-years-old when I saw The Beatles on our family's black & white television, in the living room. I loved The Beatles the instant they started singing!  And 5o years ago, today, I also fell in love with Paul McCartney and wanted to marry him, if I couldn't get Roy Rogers to marry me. It seems like that famous, February 9th, Ed Sullivan Show happened yesterday, but then again, that was a really long time ago—50 years. So, I have spent a lot of time this past week remembering those "Good Old Days."

This afternoon, when Tony and I walked out of the little H-E-B, on 16, with our groceries, a sweet, young Girl Scout, behind a card table, asked us, "Would y'all like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"

"No, thank you," Tony said, because he is trying to lose a little weight.

"Yes, I would," I said. "How much is a box?"

"Three dollars and fifty cents!"

"Oh my goodness," I replied, before chuckling. "Fifty years ago, when I was about your age, I sold Girl Scout cookies for fifty-cents a box. That was long ago." The girl and her mother laughed and so did Tony. "I want a box of Thin Mints and Tony you pick out a box." Tony picked up a box of Samoas, his favorite Girl Scout cookie. Then I paid the Girl Scout $7.00, instead of $1.00.

When we got back home, Tony took off to take pictures outside and I went into the Space Ship and deep-cleaned the refrigerator and worked on cleaning up the stove. And that is about it for tonight, because it's Beatle Time!

Y'all have a great evening!

The Cowboy Zombie!

Today has been great. This morning while T. and I were outside feeding the dogs and cleaning their pens, our friend Karon, from the children's home came over to show us her new Black Labrador, female puppy, that she has named Remington. Remington stole Tony's and my hearts immediately, as she has Karon's heart. She is only eight weeks old and is so cute, I went up to The Cabin, to get my camera, so I could take this picture of her, in Karon's arms.

Here's a picture of Belle, Roy and Beau watching us play with Remington.

This afternoon around 3:00, while Tony and I were outside talking to Jack and Carol, a very nice couple, from Kerrville, about them possibly giving Starsky a home, if he gets along with their old dog, a car drove in. This woman pulls up and asks, "Are you Cousin Nancy?"

"Yes," I answered. 

Then this woman, wearing a really big grin on her face, jumps out of her car, opens up the trunk of her car, pulls out a painted canvas and walks up to us and introduces herself to us. Then this friendly woman hands me a painting and a postcard, and says to me, "I promised an artist friend of mine, Alvin, that I would get his painting of Billy Bob Thornton with his band." then she looks at the date on the painting, "Since 2008, I've been trying to get this to Billy Bob. I sent it to Billy Bob's managers a long time ago and it was sent back to me, because Billy Bob had changed agencies and they did not know who to forward it to."

After we all looked at the beautiful painting, she continued, "Alvin is a good friend of Billy Bob Thornton and I just got back from spending a week in Big Bend and I am hoping that you can get this to Kinky, so he can mail it to Billy Bob?"

"Sure, I can get it to Kinky," I replied. Then she handed me a postcard, to be included, that Alvin had hand written a note to Billy Bob. Then the woman hugged me, walked away and drove off. 

Then we talked to Jack and Carol for a few more minutes, about them coming out next week, to foster Starsky for a few days, to make sure that their fourteen-year-old Lab wanted a young partner like sweet Starsky. 

After the nice couple drove off, I called Kinky to see if it was a good time for me to come over. "Sure, come on over."

A few minutes later, when I walked inside the Lodge, carrying the painting and postcard, I half-hollered, "Kinky!"

"Come on in, Nance. I'm in here." When I walked into Kinky's bedroom he was packing his suitcase, because tomorrow morning he is going to be on the road, in Texas, for the next three weeks. After I had told Kink about the nice woman, the artist and the painting needing to get to Billy Bob, he told me that he would take care of it. 

After he had quit packing and zipped his suitcase closed, he studied the beautiful painting and then sets it down, on the floor, next to some other paintings. Then he hands me another painting and asks me, "Would you like to have this painting of me? A friend painted this long ago and I've got way too many paintings."

I looked at the portrait of Kinky, painted by his friend and said, "Yes, I would love to have it. Maybe I will auction it off on eBay, to benefit our rescue ranch." Then I followed Kinky outside, to the front porch, so we could sit and visit with Chet O'Keefe and Sean Rima, the popular San Antonio radio talk show host, on KTSA 550AM. "Hi, y'all," I said. "This is weird. I just walked into the Lodge with a painting and a postcard and now I'm leaving with another painting..." 

After telling them about the lost Billy Bob painting, I showed them the painting that Kinky had just given to me. They liked it as much as I did. Then I asked Kinky to please sign it for me, even though he didn't paint it. "Please sign it for me. That way, I have witnesses of you signing it." Two minutes later, Kinky had signed the painting of him, using a gold colored Sharpie. He wrote: 

"Cowboy Zombie, 

Kinky Friedman"

I had a fun visit with Kinky, Chet and Sean and we talked about the accomplished actor/musician Ronny Cox, that we're all going to go see next month, at our friends house, The Friedmans, Chet's cool dog Willie, Starsky maybe getting adopted next week, our upcoming Concert for Utopia, on Palm Sunday, at the Cailloux Theatre and Chet's last week performances, in Austin, at the Strange Brew and Saxon Pub, then I adios-ed them and came back home.

I have decided that I am not going to auction it off on eBay or show y'all the painting, because it might hurt the artist's feelings, so I plan to hang Cowboy Zombie, in my office. And that is about it for today.

Y'all have a great evening!